Russia reported on Saturday more than 1,000 daily deaths due to COVID-19 for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.

       It was the third day in a row that Russia reported record high cases and deaths, with more than 33,000 new cases also reported in a single day.

       The mounting cases and deaths have put Russia's health system under increasing strain but authorities have yet to resort to a national lockdown in an effort to preserve the economy.

       Russia has a low vaccination rate with just over 30% of the population fully vaccinated against the virus, and authorities have blamed the public for not getting vaccinated.

       The country has reported 222,315 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, which is the highest figure in Europe.

       But statistics institute Rosstat, which has a broader definition of coronavirus-related deaths, puts the death toll at more than 400,000.